Theangelshavefinallybeenconnected together and the bows have all been carefully fixed across the branches.After three months of hard work, 16-year-old Suzy Jordan’s tree is finally appearing at the yearly Festival of Trees in honor of her best friend, Emily Austin.
“All that’s needed now is a real angel,”says Suzy,”to help 13-year-old Emily recover from a recent bone marrow transplant(骨髓移植)and finally remove the leukemia(白血病)”
“Emily is the strongest person I know.There’s always such brightness about her,”says Suzy,a student ar Orem High School.
Last year,when Emily’s cancer was in remission,she helped Suzy and other students decorate a red-and-white Christmas tree for Primary Children’s Medical Center at the Festival of Trees.
“It was so much fun for her,”says Emily’s mother, Laurie,”she’s seen the inside of the hospital more than a school since she was 5”.
But the good conditions didn’t last long.In August, Suzy learned that her friend’s leukemia returned, becoming worse.And she knew exactly what to do show her support.
“Emily was so excited about helping out with the festival tree last year that I decided to surprise her by giving away a tree of my own,”she says.
Because of being in hospital, Emily won’t be able to see the tree.”But I’m taking pictures to surprise her,”says Suzy.”I want her to know that she’ll always be an angel to me.”
Suzy’s tree has given Emily’s family hope for a miracle(奇迹).”It has given Emily hope that she has a chance to be a normal girl and do all the things other girls do,”says Laurie Austin.
Suzy’s greatest hope is that she’ll be able to give away more trees to the festival, with one big difference.”The best wish of all,”she says,”is that Emily will be there with me, putting on the decoration.” What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．A christmas tree gives hope for a miracle |
| B．Friends’ help means a lot |
| C．A Christmas tree for a hospital |
| D．The best hope of Suzy Jordan |
Suzy Jordan decorated a tree to ___.
| A．help Emily realize her dream |
| B．prepare for the Festival of Trees |
| C．show admiration for Emily Austin |
| D．call on more people to help Emily |
The underlined phrase”in remission”in Paragraph 4 probably means”___”.
| A．less serious |
| B．much worse |
| C．as bad as before |
| D．fully cured |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Emily probably got the leukemia eight years ago |
| B．Emily is excited and surprised to see the Christmas tree |
| C．Emily is fond of decorating Christmas trees |
| D．Emily faces her illness actively and strongly |
There are plenty of beauty schools throughout the country that can help you to start a career in cosmetology(美容业). Nowadays, young people may not be able to afford a four-year college. Students can look forward to attending a beauty school program which will only take a few months to complete and start their career right away to earn money.
There can be many benefits of going to beauty school. The expense is much less than attending a four-year university. Besides, attending beauty school is mostly a hands-on(动手的) experience which appeals to many people. Some students don’t like sitting all day listening to lectures and then having to study at night. What’s more, most beauty school programs keep up with the changing trends and fashion. So you will always be working on different hair types which can be fun and will give you a lot of experience throughout the years of your career.
If you are worried about finding a job after graduation, many beauty schools will offer assistance for immediate job placement and give you peace of mind that you will not be stranded looking for a job. Most colleges and universities are not equipped to do that because of the large number of graduates each year.
Cosmetologists will also make a good salary. The average salary will depend on your location, but you may earn a salary around $3,000 — $3,500 a month. This is not including tips which could be $600 or more a month.
Not only can young people go to cosmetology school, but people of all ages can start this career. As you can see, there are many benefits of beauty schools that can be the perfect opportunity for anyone to become a great cosmetologist.How many advantages of going to beauty school are mentioned in Paragraph 2?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
The underlined word “stranded” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by ______.
| A．focused on | B．given up | C．stuck in | D．turned to |
What can be learnt from the passage?
| A．A cosmetologist gets paid at least $3,600 a month. |
| B．Beauty schools are not popular with young people. |
| C．Graduates can easily be offered jobs by universities. |
| D．It isn’t suitable for the old to start a career in cosmetology. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The development of cosmetology |
| B．How to become a cosmetologist |
| C．The benefits of beauty schools |
| D．Going to college or beauty school |
Group Tours of the Area of the 2012 Sites
These are recommended tours for groups. Individual visitors wishing to join please click here.
East London and the Olympic Park Tour
From Central London, travel through London’s East End — recently fashionable, multicultural residential areas, and once famous for market gardens, fine churches, and shipping-related industries. Hear a little of the dark side with stories of Jack-the-Ripper and street gangs.
Now into the 21st century, you arrive at the Olympic Park, already under construction. Imagine the 80,000-seat Main Stadium, the Multi-Sports Arena, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Olympic Village, Broadcasting & Media Centre and Stratford City.
For those who have a whole day in which to see East London we recommend a morning East London and Olympic Park tour combined with an afternoon Olympic Greenwich tour.
2012 Sites Tour
The tour starts in Stratford where you view the work in progress on the Olympic Park.
Hear the history of London’s Royal Docks, as you travel to the Boxing, Judo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Table Tennis and Taekwondo venue. View the O2 Arena. See the new London City Airport, Thames Barrier Park, University of East London, new waterside apartments and smart hotels.
For those who have a whole day in which to see 2012 Olympic London we recommend a morning 2012 Olympic Sites tour combined with an afternoon 2012 Olympic Greenwich tour.
2012 Greenwich Tour
Greenwich will host 6 Olympic events.Your tour of Greenwich will include the Greenwich Park, where the equestrian events will take place.
Cross the Meridian Line to see the large buildings at Woolwich. Finally, we can show you the exciting developments taking place on the Greenwich Peninsular, which will be hosting a number of Olympic events. What can be learnt from the passage?
| A．London’s Olympic Park is being built. |
| B．London’s East End hasn’t changed much. |
| C．More than 6 Olympic events will take place in Greenwich. |
| D．No events will be hosted on the Greenwich Peninsular. |
Which of the following is not included in 2012 Sites Tour?
| A．Hear the history of London’s Royal Docks. |
| B．View the O2 Arena. |
| C．See the new London City Airport. |
| D．Cross the Meridian Line. |
If you want to visit the place where the equestrian events will take place, which tour will you choose?
| A．East London and the Olympic Park Tour |
| B．2012 Sites Tour |
| C．2012 Greenwich Tour |
| D．Olympic Park Tour |
More than half of parents in the United States are helping , or have helped their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and stagnant（无变化的）wages, according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so - called boomerang children, to return.
“Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, the president and CEO of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they are helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially, providing housing and living expenses.
For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two - thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one - third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to earn money than for their children.
Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern, and because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be cautious about their own finances.
“If you are taking on extra debt or delaying retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger.” Beck warned.
Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and ten percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed that 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.The underlined words “boomerang children” in the first paragraph likely means ________.
| A．adult children visiting parents often |
| B．married adult children |
| C．adult children depending on parents for financial support |
| D．adult children independent and successful in life |
What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?
| A．Asking their children to help with the housework. |
| B．Leaving their children to struggle to live. |
| C．Being careful when helping their children financially. |
| D．Putting off their time of retirement. |
According to the survey, we can know that ________.
| A．about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily cost |
| B．two - thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in school |
| C．one - third of adult children earn money more easily than their parents |
| D．one in ten parents has delayed retirement |
What is the main idea of the whole text?
| A．Adult children are less independent. |
| B．Parents help support adult children. |
| C．Bad conditions affect children a lot. |
| D．Adult children like living with parents. |
An Ofsted (英国教育标准办公室）study reports that teachers are discouraging students who want to leave school and work as apprentices (学徒）in beauty salons (美容中心）or hair dressers.
Inspectors questioned 105 young people for a report on apprenticeships published on Wednesday. They found several examples of young people who felt they had been laughed at by their teachers for wanting to progress to work-based learning, particularly in care or hairdressing, rather than stay on at school.
Right or wrong, is it any surprise that this is happening? From 2014，the government will measure schools according to the rate of their pupils who go to university. Brian Lightman , general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, says the government has already put teachers under “very great pressure to focus on academic subjects”
On the other hand, the Education Act 2011，which came into force in November, places schools under a duty to give fair career advice to pupils. This advice must include information on all post-16 education and training choices, including apprenticeships. This doesn’t appear to be happening in several schools, according to Ofsted9S report. Many of the young people the inspectors talked to said the advice they had received on apprenticeships was “unsatisfactory”.
Schools were also blamed for lack of work experience courses, which are particularly important for teenagers considering an apprenticeship. They help students decide whether they enjoy a line of work and enable employers to see whether those on work experience have the potential to be hired as apprentices in future years.
But there is a good reason why they can’t do this: they’d be unable to adapt to GCSE (英国齊通中等教育证书）exams if they did. Sometimes, it seems, schools just can’t win.Why do teachers oppose the students’ leaving school and working as apprentices?
| A．The government urges teachers to concentrate on academic subjects. |
| B．The students are only wasting time working as apprentices. |
| C．Employers are under great pressure of taking GCSE exams. |
| D．Employers don’t give students chances to work as apprentices |
Pressure for schools to provide pupils with career advice comes from ______.
| A．Association of School and College Leaders |
| B．Education Act 2011 |
| C．GCSE exams |
| D．OFSTED |
The underlined word “They” in Paragraph 5 refers to _____.
| A．schools |
| B．employers |
| C．work experience courses |
| D．teenagers considering an apprenticeship |
What does the author think of teachers’ discouraging students working as apprentices?
| A．Surprising | B．Understandable |
| C．Wrong | D．Right |
Amazing Rafting Adventures
White water rafting is one of the classic, wild, activities in the outdoors. It is also an opportunity for an unbelievable family adventure. Around the country, there are several rivers—and rafting outfitters—that are perfectly suited to the entire family.
Here are three of the best:
New River Gorge, West Virginia
Rafting in West Virginia is renowned for its established infrastructure, reliability, and easy access. These things make it an obvious choice for a family vacation. Famous areas, including the New River Gorge, offer everything from lazy floats to intense Class IV runs.
READ MORE: Water Water Rafting: Top 5 U.S. Locations
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Jackson Hole provides a full range of opportunities in the outdoors—and white water rafting is certainly one of them. Popular trips include the rough rapids of the Snake River and gentle floats in nearby Yellowstone National Park.
READ MORE: What You Need to Know Before Visiting Yellowstone National Park
Grand Canyon, Arizona
For really bold families, a multi-day trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is the penultimate adventure. Guided trips typically pack in boats-worth of supplies so the overnight adventures are far from “roughing it.” Instead, evenings are catered in a rugged luxury style, allowing everyone to rest up for the next day’s activities.
Whether looking for a casual float or a challenging adventure, white water rafting is a great option for any active family vacation. What is the common feature of the three rafting adventures?
| A．All three rafting rivers are suitable for the whole family. |
| B．All three rafting rivers are boring to access and reliable |
| C．All three rafting rivers are suitable for active families |
| D．All three rafting rivers offer overnight adventures |
Which of the following about Grand Canyon, Arizona is NOT true?
| A．A multi-day trip down the Colorado River is really challenging. |
| B．Really brave families will like to have a multi-day trip down the river |
| C．Everyone can rest for the next day’s activities. |
| D．People can only enjoy the rough rapids down the river |
What is the author’s attitude to white water rafting?
| A．Passive | B．Encouraging | C．Discouraging | D．Negative |
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